OK, so I've been stewing and brewing an Epic Campaign idea all weekend, and was hoping for it to have a new home (yay FFG)!!

So, if I were to create an XWM Epic Campaign with resource management, how many Episodes should it have? I was thinking 6, with some "side adventures" that are optional.

I already have an idea about "long term resource management" and (a) how this would allow players influence the campaign and (b) how it would create a win condition.

I had an idea that I could release it monthly, and hopefully I could get a core of "subscribers" would would all play along.

Lovely idea!!

If the plan is to play over Vassal, count me in

If I had unlimited resources and time, I would come up with some sort of campaign where each player would start with something like 1500 points and several sectors (3X3, 4X4 and 3X6 play areas.) Each area would provide an amount of income in the form of more points to spend. You would have to allocate your points by coming up with lists in each of your sectors or creating permanent defenses such as battle stations. You could then move your forces into other sectors to try to add to your space and increase your income by defeating the defenders stationed there. Your could move a huge bulk of your forces into an enemy space to take it, but then your enemy could just send a couple scout ships into your undefended sectors to take them from you so you would have to balance offense with defense. At the end of a certain amount of time, you would get the points for your sectors controlled and then allocate new resources such as better pilot skill, new ships, torpedos, cannons, etc. Players would be allowed to run away to fight another day by fleeing a battle field. Perhaps you could even have reserve forces hyperspace into a fight if its going bad for you.

Ah well... just dreaming epicly.

I have a buddy who designed exactly this. Areas that produce, fleet pts that you draw squadrons from, the works.

I'll see if he's ok sharing it here. Be warned it was like 150 typed pages of rules and charts and ****. Epic campaigns and campaigns in general have lots of rules you'd never think of without putting in an unholy amount of time (he did)

1 minute ago, Dabirdisdaword said:

I have a buddy who designed exactly this. Areas that produce, fleet pts that you draw squadrons from, the works.

I'll see if he's ok sharing it here. Be warned it was like 150 typed pages of rules and charts and ****. Epic campaigns and campaigns in general have lots of rules you'd never think of without putting in an unholy amount of time (he did)

1 hour ago, pickirk01 said:

If I had unlimited resources and time,...

Ah well... just dreaming epicly.

Exactly. I would love to see it if its available. Now if I can just find 3 to 5 friends who are single, have no kids and have a multi-million dollar trust fund to live off of with nothing to do with their time we can get this thing rolling.

1 hour ago, Dabirdisdaword said:

I have a buddy who designed exactly this. Areas that produce, fleet pts that you draw squadrons from, the works.

1 hour ago, pickirk01 said:

Exactly. I would love to see it if its available. Now if I can just find 3 to 5 friends who are single, have no kids and have a multi-million dollar trust fund to live off of with nothing to do with their time we can get this thing rolling.

So, my vision would be to create sort of a "follow along" idea that slowly unfolded month by month over maybe a year. Each month there would be a "mission drop" and everyone who wanted to play would do so with whatever local group they have, then we all share a "what's up" BatRep in the monthly thread. I would try to stay a couple months ahead just to playtest as best as I could. At the end we would have:

A. An actual playtested campaign for newcomers to XWM.

B. A community X-Wing experience in Epic.

Kinda a little like the old Play By Mail gaming experience before the internets wuz here.

Vassal could be a thing, but I honestly have never played on Vassal so I'm not sure how that would work. Downside though: no glorious photos of Epic Battles!!

Ok I would be so in for that.

Like a monthly: play this mission send in results of which faction won

Count up the results and have that affect a month a little down the way?

So having a system/cluster/galaxy map that we all contribute to from all the local and vassal games?

Sign me up. And I'm sure I've got a couple other who'd be in too.

I'm on my bloody stupid phone, and can't manage to locate the links. But look for Pallas Athena, or Battlestar Athena, or...jeez, what was that called? Anyhow, it's a HotAC-style system using a Gozanti. It could give you a good start. Also, check in with @heychadwick and @Babaganoosh and the Shuttle Tydirium crew about their experiences with their Greyskull campaign. Lots of insights there, I'm sure.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/01om2l36ca9sxg5/X-wing Campaign 6.6.0.docx?dl=0

here it is, he says hes linked it before and hes cool with it being shared.

Lots of small squadron skirmishes punctuated by epic ship brawls.

its pretty expansive and might work better as a mail in if we cut it down a touch but its there! discuss,

battlestar pallas?

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wn19ew6j1ndu8w7/AADWH95H88fEx1SQgTchA03Aa?dl=0

Ok, so I'll post my brainstorm tomorrow night. Too late now, then gotta work.

I will say that the idea follows a thread + diversions approach. So, no grand maps, etc., but more like a series of skirmishes between the Empire and the Rebels that have an influence one to the next. Earn Asset Points and spend them to change the nature of the next encounter.

I guess in a certain way I would be looking at this at little like an art class: here's the assignment (mission). Take it to your group and explore it, then come back and share your thoughts. We have fun playing x-wing, and can talk about game play from a common POV. Hopefully, at the end, we have created an Open Source x-wing project.

I will admit, some of the inspiration comes from the Trench Run thread. It's @DagobahDave 's thing, but a lot of people have played it thru, making it even better.

I have been working on a campaign for a little while now. I had posted my initial draft in my painting and mod thread. It isn't specifically for Epic but I had planned to include a number of missions with Epic ships available. Anyway, things have stalled quite a bit due to life in general so I am not sure if I will ever get around to finishing it, but if there is anything you find useful feel free to use it.

Warriors of the Herios Sector

Cool Idea! I like the idea of resources management, but worry about it in X-wing as it can lead to really unbalanced games when the resources start to fail. If someone is losing and has ships blow up, then they start getting into a hole. It gets lopsided really fast.

One thing you can do is reward with more options and punish with limited options. So, have a base that can never be removed, but allow more options for those that win. It can be ship choices, munitions, crew, and upgrade options.

There is also the idea of mission choice, too. Games Workshop had a kind of tree campaign where the story was told by missions. You may have fewer points, but your mission has an even chance if success. So, you can still win even if you are losing. If that makes sense. So, maybe you win and you get to pick the next mission.

There is also the idea of fuel costs meaning where you can attack on the map. How much fuel do you get per turn? Have one strike force go deep and others stay defensive.

Just some ideas while on a phone.

In any campaign, you have to balance the effect of consequences against the tendencies to steamroll or rubber-band (depending on your mechanics). I'll define those terms quickly here for everyone's information:

Steamrolling is when a side accumulates power, then power becomes easier to accumulate, leading to an unstoppable force. This is kind of OK, since it leads to an end in the campaign (which you DO want), but if it happens too early or too quickly, the campaign can become unappealing to play.

Rubber-banding is the opposite effect, where you get more powerful by losing, and the game never ends. If you reward players for losing missions (giving them more squad points per mission for example), then it may become hard to finish off a player, and the campaign can yo-yo back and forth between alternate outcomes without reaching either. That's no good either.

A couple of ideas for how you can let players effect the campaign, while avoiding the aforementioned problems:

ALLOW PLAYERS TO AFFECT THE STORY PATH: An easy way to allow players to have an effect on the campaign without affecting mission balance is to have alternate ending missions for the campaign, which are always balanced, but offer different thematic endings to the campaign. For example, if the Rebels are losing going into the last mission, the last mission might be a base evacuation scenario. If the Rebels win, they survive to fight another day, but if the Imperials win, the rebels are finished. Neither outcome is great for the Rebels; they're not really defeating the Imperials in either case. They're trying to stay alive. In the same example, the scenario for Rebels going into the last mission with the advantage may be an attack on an Imperial shipyard. If the Rebels lose, they blew their chance to destroy the shipyard. Bummer, but not catastrophic. If the Imperials lose, it's a major blow. By having players affect the theme, they feel like they've done something by winning previous missions, but you can keep your grip on the mission balance.

ALLOW PLAYERS TO AFFECT WHEN THE CAMPAIGN ENDS: I'll talk more about this below as a way to end a campaign, but essentially, a win moves the player/team closer to the campaign win condition.

ALLOW PLAYERS TO EXPAND THEIR SQUAD OPTIONS: Another way to reward players without throwing balance way out of whack is to reward players by opening up their squad building options. This assumes that you have restricted their squad building (having players work off a squadron roster to build squads for missions is a common way of restricting squadbuilding options). Rewarding mission success by allowing players to add to their roster is a nice soft reward for a job well done. You should be a little careful if you use this option that players don't have a chance to custom-build their squads to counter specific opponents over the course of the campaign; by changing up the player-player matchups between rounds, you should be fine.

In terms of ending the campaign, if you're maintaining control over the number of rounds and what missions are played each round, you would have control over when the campaign ends. If you want the players to be more in the driver seat, the I recommend having a 'race to the finish, with possibility of comeback' model of victory.

The way a race to the finish might work in this type of campaign, you could have a string of missions that each team has to complete, each mission success opening up the next mission in the chain. A quick example for the Imperials would be: intercept data transmission ->capture prisoner ->Perform recon for Rebel base -> Assault Rebel base. The Imps would have a chance each round to complete the current mission in their chain, and move on to the next one. The final mission would start the end of the campaign - if the Imperials win the 'Assault Rebel Base' mission, they win. But I would always include a chance for the defending team to turn things around at the last second, so that if one team gets an early lead in their mission chain, the other team always feels like they have a chance to win until the campaign is over. That's really important - if either side senses that the campaign is already decided before it actually ends, then the dramatic tension goes out of the whole project and you will probably see people stop playing. Players can only be relied on to keep playing if they think they have a chance to win.

7 hours ago, Babaganoosh said:

ALLOW PLAYERS TO AFFECT THE STORY PATH: An easy way to allow players to have an effect on the campaign without affecting mission balance is to have alternate ending missions for the campaign, which are always balanced, but offer different thematic endings to the campaign. For example, if the Rebels are losing going into the last mission, the last mission might be a base evacuation scenario. If the Rebels win, they survive to fight another day, but if the Imperials win, the rebels are finished. Neither outcome is great for the Rebels; they're not really defeating the Imperials in either case. They're trying to stay alive. In the same example, the scenario for Rebels going into the last mission with the advantage may be an attack on an Imperial shipyard. If the Rebels lose, they blew their chance to destroy the shipyard. Bummer, but not catastrophic. If the Imperials lose, it's a major blow. By having players affect the theme, they feel like they've done something by winning previous missions, but you can keep your grip on the mission balance.

ALLOW PLAYERS TO AFFECT WHEN THE CAMPAIGN ENDS: I'll talk more about this below as a way to end a campaign, but essentially, a win moves the player/team closer to the campaign win condition.

ALLOW PLAYERS TO EXPAND THEIR SQUAD OPTIONS: Another way to reward players without throwing balance way out of whack is to reward players by opening up their squad building options. This assumes that you have restricted their squad building (having players work off a squadron roster to build squads for missions is a common way of restricting squadbuilding options). Rewarding mission success by allowing players to add to their roster is a nice soft reward for a job well done. You should be a little careful if you use this option that players don't have a chance to custom-build their squads to counter specific opponents over the course of the campaign; by changing up the player-player matchups between rounds, you should be fine.

OK, I feel pretty good that I had already ticked those 3 boxes. So, this is my idea (so far):

Picutorion is a little know planet in the Kwymar Sector of the Outer Rim Territories. As the Empire grew in power, this world (and a handful of others in the Kwymar Sector) allied itself with the Alliance to Restore the Republic in defiance of the new Empire. Seeking to quell rebellion (and make an example of rebellious worlds), the Empire invaded the region in a series of battles that became known as the Kwymar Suppressions. Will Picutorion succumb to the Empire, or can a band of Rebels emerge to take the fight to the Empire?

This campaign was created with 6 linear, “mandatory” encounters that recreated the struggles of the Picutorian rebels against the Imperial Navy. Both players may opt to engage in Diversion battles, which would be launched in the hopes that the player choosing the diversion will gain an advantage in future encounters. Since the campaign is set in the beginnings of the Galactic Civil War, it will emphasized ships from that era. On the other hand, in agreeable, players could also select from First Order and Resistance ships. Lastly, while this is mostly an Imperial vs. Rebels conflict, the aid of Scum and Villiany can be had--for the right price--on both sides.

Play begins with a minimum of assets. Picutorion must defend itself with its Planetary Defense Force, and initially the Empire doesn’t think much of Picutorian’s pitiful little band. However, as the conflict lengthens, both sides begin to commit more to the fray. The first encounter lists the ships available to both sides. With the winnings of that battle, each player can begin to expand the options available for future engagements, while needing to balance this commitment with having the reserves to win the war. This will be described more below in Asset Points.

Pilot Mortality

For the duration of the campaign, if a pilot is destroyed in a mission, that pilot can no longer be used in list building by that player for any future missions (with some exceptions listed below). In this way, the campaign emphasizes the use of generics (who are always replaceable), and can sometimes make a battle loss a bit of a victory if the foes favorite hero is eliminated. Use your aces with caution: If he dies, he no longer flies.

Imperial Chassis Tiers

Rebel Chassis Tiers

Assets

Assets are the victory points awarded at the end of each mission, as described in each mission. They are the currency by which the player can influence future parts in the game. Be careful though: the player at the end of the campaign with the most Assets wins: spend too much, and you may lose it all!

1 point per Tier: Gain access to a new chassis type. Tier 1 chassis may be purchased at any time, and as many as desired. Tier 3 ships may be banned for flavor, or if players agree, may be purchased as per a Type 2 chassis. Only one Type 2 chassis type may be selected between main missions. Once a chassis is purchased, the player has unlimited access to that chassis for the rest of the campaign.

2 points: Recover a MIA/KIA hero. Death. It’s such an ephemeral thing in Star Wars.

1 point: Lopsided battle. The player may spend 10 more points on squadron building than is allowed for the scenario. Up to 2 Assets may be spent, maximum.

1 point: Unilateral Set Up. One player sets up the entire playing field before the mission begins.

1 point: Benched. The player may deny the use of a Unique pilot in the next game.

1 point: Hired Help. The player gains access to a S&V pilot. If that pilot is Unique, the opposing player no longer has the option of taking that pilot. If, during a mission, both players arrive with the same Unique Scum pilot, they are both played that game. If one player’s copy of that pilot is killed, he loses control of that pilot and it now belongs to the other player. If both copies are killed, that pilot is lost for the rest of the campaign. If both copies survive, the player who won the scenario gains control of the pilot and the other player may no longer access him.

2 points: Plot Diversion: The player choses a mission not in the line of the campaign to foil the other player. Each player may purchase a Diversion one time only.

Season 1: Assault on Picutorion

The Imperial have arrived to conquer Picutorion. In accordance with the Tarkin Doctrine, the Imperial want to cut off Lothal’s ability to effectively communicate with the outside galaxy. To this end, they must destroy its communications network.

Assets: +1 to Imperials for each satellite destroyed. +2 to Rebels for each satellite remaining.

Starting Chassis:

Imperial: TIE/ln, Lambda Shuttle.

Rebel: Z-95, Outer Rim Smuggler. (to be expanded and released as the first battle of the campaign)

Looks interesting; I would be worried that you might be setting people up to be able to steamroll, depending on how many asset points you can get each mission. For example if a rebel player comes out of the first round of missions with 4 APs and the Imperials with 1 (not sure how many sats you have there, but you get the idea), and each subsequent mission allows them to earn more than two APs, you could have a situation where a player could invest 2 APs per mission for a lopsided battle each time, which would probably deny the enemy APs and ensure that they accumulate more. That would be a scenario where success leads to more success, and makes it harder for the enemy to build strength - that's steamrolling

1 hour ago, Babaganoosh said:

Looks interesting; I would be worried that you might be setting people up to be able to steamroll, depending on how many asset points you can get each mission. For example if a rebel player comes out of the first round of missions with 4 APs and the Imperials with 1 (not sure how many sats you have there, but you get the idea), and each subsequent mission allows them to earn more than two APs, you could have a situation where a player could invest 2 APs per mission for a lopsided battle each time, which would probably deny the enemy APs and ensure that they accumulate more. That would be a scenario where success leads to more success, and makes it harder for the enemy to build strength - that's steamrolling

In the first mission, I am assuming it will be harder to protect rather than to kill the satellites, hence the disproportionate reward. Maybe that's wrong. The ongoing missions would hopefully see saw between Rebel advantage and Imperial advantage, ideally keeping things up the middle. Also, if you blow all your assets to win battles, you may loose the war by having nothing in your kitty at the end.

Also, I would plan to have a larger pool of assets at the beginning for immediate investment, because I'm pretty sure no one wants to play Z-95s all the time.

Thanks for the input! I also need to post my Diversion scenarios to show how players can "choose their own path."

50 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

In the first mission, I am assuming it will be harder to protect rather than to kill the satellites, hence the disproportionate reward. Maybe that's wrong. The ongoing missions would hopefully see saw between Rebel advantage and Imperial advantage, ideally keeping things up the middle. Also, if you blow all your assets to win battles, you may loose the war by having nothing in your kitty at the end.

Also, I would plan to have a larger pool of assets at the beginning for immediate investment, because I'm pretty sure no one wants to play Z-95s all the time.

Thanks for the input! I also need to post my Diversion scenarios to show how players can "choose their own path."

The disproportionate rewards are fine, depending on missions balance. The asset rewards are the problem (some of them).

I think the real problem would be if people can invest asset points to give themselves a clear advantage in their missions, leading to a positive return on investment in terms of Assets, while reducing the enemy Asset gain. That's success leading to success, which sets you up for steamrollers.

I think most of your Asset rewards are ok but there are a couple one I'm worried about:

Quote

1 point per Tier: Gain access to a new chassis type. Tier 1 chassis may be purchased at any time, and as many as desired. Tier 3 ships may be banned for flavor, or if players agree, may be purchased as per a Type 2 chassis. Only one Type 2 chassis type may be selected between main missions. Once a chassis is purchased, the player has unlimited access to that chassis for the rest of the campaign.

-Fine

2 points: Recover a MIA/KIA hero. Death. It’s such an ephemeral thing in Star Wars.

-Fine

1 point: Lopsided battle. The player may spend 10 more points on squadron building than is allowed for the scenario. Up to 2 Assets may be spent, maximum.

-Dangerous; gives a marked advantage in battles of 200 points or less.

1 point: Unilateral Set Up. One player sets up the entire playing field before the mission begins.

-Contextually very dangerous; depends on scenario. Could lead to very one-sided fights

1 point: Benched. The player may deny the use of a Unique pilot in the next game.

-Fine

1 point: Hired Help. The player gains access to a S&V pilot. If that pilot is Unique, the opposing player no longer has the option of taking that pilot. If, during a mission, both players arrive with the same Unique Scum pilot, they are both played that game. If one player’s copy of that pilot is killed, he loses control of that pilot and it now belongs to the other player. If both copies are killed, that pilot is lost for the rest of the campaign. If both copies survive, the player who won the scenario gains control of the pilot and the other player may no longer access him.

-Fine

2 points: Plot Diversion: The player choses a mission not in the line of the campaign to foil the other player. Each player may purchase a Diversion one time only.

-Fine

In general, any reward for mission success that a player can use to tip the odds of future missions in their favor is dangerous. Missions should always be balanced to the best of your ability. Player influence on the campaign should be limited to affect pacing, theme... anything that falls outside of mission balance, and does not create the possibility of no-win or practically no-win scenarios arising in the context of individual missions or the campaign overall.

Counting assets to determine the campaign victor is a good deterrent to spending them, but it would not deter someone from spending them if they thought they had a good chance to increase their assets by investing some. So if the return on investment for assets is good, then they won't stop spending them.

A good example would be a player with three assets going into a mission against a player with 0-1 assets. In a mission with stakes of more than 3 assets, I would expect most people to invest their assets to pump their forces up by 20 points and get an advantageous deployment, putting themselves in good position to dominate the mission, lowering the asset gain by their enemy while increasing their own.

Quote

1 point: Lopsided battle. The player may spend 10 more points on squadron building than is allowed for the scenario. Up to 2 Assets may be spent, maximum.

-Dangerous; gives a marked advantage in battles of 200 points or less.

1 point: Unilateral Set Up. One player sets up the entire playing field before the mission begins.

-Contextually very dangerous; depends on scenario. Could lead to very one-sided fights

Quote

Lopsided Battle: Good point. Despite the title, the idea is not to make the battle truly lopsided, but to allow a player a chance to "round up." Get a couple of upgrades or an extra missile. Could work if I just scaled it 3/6/9 for 100/200/300. Also, maybe increase cost.

Unilateral Set Up: Idea being that sometimes a side gets the "high ground." Maybe I lessen the effect, make it cost more, or ban its use in critical scenarios.

The Imperial have arrived to conquer Picutorion. In accordance with the Tarkin Doctrine, the Imperial want to cut off Lothal’s ability to effectively communicate with the outside galaxy. To this end, they must destroy its communications network. The Picutorion Planetary Defense Force has mustered what ships they can to repel the attack.

List Building:

Each player brings a 300 point list. The Rebels are limited to 2 chassis: the venerable Z-95 (the Planetary Defense Force) and Outer Rim Smugglers in the YT-1300 (civilians willing to throw in what help they can). Expecting an easy victory, the Empire sends only the stalwart TIE fighter and the Lambda Shuttle.

No one has any Asset Tokens yet, so there is no way to influence the engagement.

Set Up:

6x3 play area. Players deploy along the long ends of the board. Player begin by placing 6 Asteroids as usual. Once the asteroids are placed, the Rebel player then deploys all 12 satellite tokens (from the Basic Sets). Satellite tokens must be Range 3 from any table edge and Range 2 from each other.

Play:

Play is as typical, with the following in game special effects:

Satellites have 1 Hull and 1 Shield. They have 0 Agility and no attack. They can be Target Locked. They do not count as obstacles. Treat a critical hit as 2 damage. In addition, if a Rebel ship is with Range 1 of a Satellite that is hit, that pilot may choose to suffer one of the hits or critical hits instead of the satellite.

After round 5, pilots may flee any table edge to avoid being destroyed.

Victory Conditions:

For each satellite destroyed, the Imperials gain 1 Asset Point. For each Satellite remaining, the Rebels gain 2 Asset Points.

Obviously I need to flesh these out, but here's a start. Ideally, I would have DOZENS of Diversions to choose from, so that no 2 run thrus of the campaign would ever be the same. So, the campaign consists of 6 "assigned" missions. Then, between each of these, each player may choose up to 1 Diversion. So, in the end, the campaign is 6-16 battles.

Diversion (300 points): Factory Strike

Purchasing player chooses a chassis the other player currently does not have access to. If Attacking player wins, the defender loses access to that chassis. If the Defending player wins, he gains access to that chassis.

Diversion (200 points): A Hero Reborn

Purchasing player chooses a KIA Hero to us in the scenario. If He/she survives +5 Asset points. If he dies, +3 to other player.

Diversion (100 points): The Hit

Purchasing player also purchases 100 points of S&V. He chooses 1 enemy Pilot to be the target. An easy chance to remove an annoying target.

Diversion (100 points): Personnel Transfer

Purchasing player chooses 1 enemy Unique Crew to be the target. An easy chance to remove an annoying target.

Diversion (200 points): Kessel Run

Can you make the Kessel Run in 12 f/s? Even when someone is trying to kill you? Each player must use a large base ship as their racer; the rest of the list must be small base ships. Each player wagers any number of Asset points. If they cross the finish line first, they win back double their wager. The loser loses all his wager. Can hire a S&V pilot to fly!

Diversion (300 points): Capital Gains

Purchasing Player launches a strike against a Huge ship to destroy it. The Defending player must use one of the Titles for the Raider or CR-90. The corvette does not count in the 300 point list but cannot be more than 140 points.

Diversion (300 points): Scientia and Sapientia

Purchasing player attacks an enemy transport carrying technical parts and crew. If destroyed, he can deny 3 types of upgrades.

Diversion (100 points): Two Ships Enter, One Ship Leaves

Each player must bring a 2 ship list with both ships being unique pilots. Either player may flee the table edge when one of their ships is destroyed.

Diversion (100 points): Never Tell Me the Odds

Purchasing player builds a 100 point squad. Opponent builds a 110 point squad. If the purchasing player wins, he gains +4 Asset Points.

Diversion (100 points): All Squadrons Reporting In

Each player choses 1 chassis. All ships in the list must be of the same type, and at least 1 unique Squad Leader is required. If the purchasing player wins, he gains 4 Asset points. If the opponent wins, he gains 2 Asset points.

Diversion (200 points): Munitions Dump

Purchasing player attacks the foe’s supply dump. 6 asteroids on his side, 6 crates on enemy’s. For each crate destroyed, purchasing player can deny 1 type of torpedo, missile, or bomb. Purchasing player can flee off table edge at any time to end the scenario. Crates explode for 2d damage to any ship at R1.

Diversion (100 points): Not This Ship, Sister

Purchasing player chooses 1 ship with a Unique Pilot. If the pilot survives the Diversion, that pilot may be used in any mission the rest of the campaign (cannot be killed).

Diversion (100 points): The Force is With Me, and I Am One With The Force

If the purchasing wins this encounter, he gains 1 Force Asset token. He may spend this Force Asset at any time to choose the result of a die roll.

Diversion (100 points): Cloak and Dagger

If the purchasing player wins this encounter, he gains 1 Counterintelligence Asset token. He may spend this Counterintelligence Asset at any time to require his opponent to choose a different Diversion. Alternatively, that player may spend an additional 3 Asset Points to continue with the chosen Diversion.

I absolutely love this idea Darth Meanie. I wonder how hard it would be to implement a HOTAC style ai for huge ships. I would love some co-op through a campaign setting.

The idea of Unilateral Setup was to allow a player to affect the battlefield for a slight strategic benefit. Since my original idea might have been to heavy-handed. . .

1 point: Asteroids Do Not Concern Me. After asteroid set up, the player may add 6 more asteroids.

1 point: This One Goes Here, That One Goes There. Got It? After asteroid set up, the player may remove and redeploy 2 of the asteroids.

1 point: Static Defenses: After asteroid set up, the player may add 3 minefields.

1 point: Battle in the Clouds. After asteroid set up, the player may change 2 of them to ion clouds.

1 point: Slug Fest. After asteroid set up, the player may add a Space Slug to one asteroid.

OK, here's where I am now. Full sentences all the way thru, the bones are in place. The Episodes are written; hoping to playtest a little and keeping something just a little mysterious (ooooooo. . . . . . .). Just going to repost in toto:

Picutorion is a little know planet in the Kwymar Sector of the Outer Rim Territories. As the Empire grew in power, this world (and a handful of others in the Kwymar Sector) allied itself with the Alliance to Restore the Republic in defiance of the new Empire. Seeking to quell rebellion (and make an example of rebellious worlds), the Empire invaded the region in a series of battles that became known as the Kwymar Suppressions. Will Picutorion succumb to the Empire, or can a band of Rebels emerge to take the fight to the Empire?

This campaign was created with 6 linear, “mandatory” encounters that recreated the struggles of the Picutorian rebels against the Imperial Navy. Both players may opt to engage in Diversion battles, which would be launched in the hopes that the player choosing the diversion will gain an advantage in future encounters. Since the campaign is set in the beginnings of the Galactic Civil War, it will emphasize ships from that era. On the other hand, in agreeable, players could also select from First Order and Resistance ships. Lastly, while this is mostly an Imperial vs. Rebels conflict, the aid of Scum and Villiany can be had--for the right price--on both sides.

Play begins with a minimum of assets. Picutorion must defend itself with its Planetary Defense Force, and initially the Empire doesn’t think much of Picutorian’s pitiful little band. However, as the conflict lengthens, both sides begin to commit more to the fray. The first encounter lists the ships available to both sides. With the winnings of that battle, each player can begin to expand the options available for future engagements, while needing to balance this commitment with having the reserves to win the war. This will be described more below in Asset Points.

Pilot Mortality

For the duration of the campaign, if a pilot is destroyed in a mission, that pilot can no longer be used in list building by that player for any future missions (with one exceptions listed below). In this way, the campaign emphasizes the use of generics (who are always replaceable), and can sometimes make a battle loss a bit of a victory if the foe’s favorite hero is eliminated. Use your aces with caution: If he dies, he no longer flies.

Imperial Chassis Tiers

Rebel Chassis Tiers

Assets

Assets are the victory points awarded at the end of each mission, as described in each mission. They are the currency by which the player can influence future parts in the game. Be careful though: the player at the end of the campaign with the most Assets wins: spend too much, and you may lose it all!

• 1 point per Tier: Gain access to a new chassis type. Tier 1 chassis may be purchased at any time, and as many as desired. Tier 3 ships may be banned for flavor, or if players agree, may be purchased as per a Type 2 chassis . Only one Type 2 chassis type may be selected between main missions. Once a chassis is purchased, the player has unlimited access to that chassis for the rest of the campaign.

• 2 points: Recover a MIA/KIA hero. Death. It’s such an ephemeral thing in Star Wars.

• 1 point: Lopsided battle. The player may spend 10 more points on squadron building than is allowed for the scenario. Up to 2 Assets may be spent, maximum.

• 1 point: Unilateral Set Up. One player sets up the entire playing field before the mission begins.

• 1 point: Asteroids Do Not Concern Me. After asteroid set up, the player may add 6 more asteroids.

• 1 point: This One Goes Here, That One Goes There. Got It? After asteroid set up, the player may remove and redeploy 2 of the asteroids.

• 1 point: Static Defenses: After asteroid set up, the player may add 3 minefields.

• 1 point: Battle in the Clouds. After asteroid set up, the player may change 2 of them to ion clouds.

• 1 point: Slug Fest. After asteroid set up, the player may add a Space Slug to one asteroid.

• 1 point: Benched. The player may deny the use of a Unique pilot in the next game.

• 1 point: Hired Help. The player gains access to a S&V pilot. If that pilot is Unique, the opposing player no longer has the option of taking that pilot. If, during a mission, both players arrive with the same Unique Scum pilot, they are both played that game. If one player’s copy of that pilot is killed, he loses control of that pilot and it now belongs to the other player. If both copies are killed, that pilot is lost for the rest of the campaign. If both copies survive, the player who won the scenario gains control of the pilot and the other player may no longer access him.

• 2 points: Plot Diversion: The player choses a mission not in the line of the campaign to foil the other player. Each player may purchase a Diversion one time only, and only 1 Diversion between each Episode.

The Six Campaign Episodes

The following six missions will be played by any players participating in the campaign. The form the core of the campaign’s story arc in the battle for Picutorion. In between each mission, each player may choose a single Diversion Mission. These Diversions are not mandatory, and in fact cost the player Asset Points to engage (see below). Thus, the campaign will be at minimum 6 engagements, and may consist of as many as 10 more engagements, if both players select a Diversion at every opportunity.

Episode I: Assault on Picutorion

The Imperial have arrived to conquer Picutorion. In accordance with the Tarkin Doctrine, the Imperial want to cut off Lothal’s ability to effectively communicate with the outside galaxy. To this end, they must destroy its communications network. The Picutorion Planetary Defense Force has mustered what ships they can to repel the attack.

Episode II: Rebel Restock

The Rebels make a daring raid with 3 GR-75s to steal supplies from the Imperials.

Episode III: Blockade Run

Having failed to completely quell Picutorion, the Imperial Navy has established a blockade of the planet to prevent further strengthening of the rebellion there. This blockade is slowly choking the Rebels ability to fight. . .they need more supplies. In a daring run, with a new secret weapon prototype, the Rebels attempt to bust the blockade and sent supplies to Picutorion.

Episode IV: Scramble the Fighters!

Imperial ambush! The Rebels are caught off guard while having a secret meeting on a remote space station. A VIP vital to the Picutorion resistance is present and must get away. Rebel fighters are scrambled to buy time as the VIP is rushed to an available shuttle for an escape to hyperspace.

Episode V: The Rebellion Strikes Back

The Rebels have finally decided to take the fight to the Empire. (If they are winning, they are emboldened. If they are losing, they are getting desperate.) Spies have located an Imperial refueling facility. If they can destroy Imperial resources, they can finally begin to gain some ground in repelling the Imperial incursions in the Kwymar Sector. Unfortunately, the facility is well-guarded. . .

Episode VI: The Last of the Leaders

The enemy is nearly defeated!! The player with the most Assets after Episode V and any Diversions launches an attack against the leaders of the opposition. A secret meeting in a remote sector of space has been discovered by the agents of the ascendant player, and an attack is launched in hopes of finishing the enemy once and for all. On the other hand, if the ambush is unsuccessful, it may only mean that defeat is inevitable. . .

[Whoever with the most Asset points is the Attacker. Every leader killed is worth 2 Asset points to the Attacker, every leader that survives is worth 4 points to the underdog. If the margin is close, the loser might just become the winner!!]

Diversion Missions

These missions are completely optional. A player choosing a Diversion will spend Asset Points to “purchase” the Diversion, essentially choosing to divert resources in an attempt to gain the upper hand later in the campaign. A player may purchase a Diversion only once, but each Diversion is available to both players so a single Diversion may be played twice during the course of the campaign if the players seek the same advantages during the campaign. The player spending Assets to select the mission is the “Purchasing Player;” his opponent is the “Defending Player.”

Diversion (300 points): Factory Strike

Purchasing player chooses a chassis the other player currently does not have access to. The defending player must spend at least 100 points of his list fielding the chosen chassis. If Attacking player wins, the defender loses access to that chassis for the rest of the campaign. If the Defending player wins, he gains access to that chassis for the rest of the campaign.

Diversion (300 points): Scientia and Sapientia

The Purchasing player attacks an enemy Transport carrying technical parts and crew. The defending player must field as least one Transport Huge ship. If the Transport is destroyed, the Purchasing player selects 3 upgrades cards that cannot be used by the Defending player for the rest of the campaign.

Diversion (300 points): Hostage Situation

Purchasing player creates a S&V list. This list has not been hired by the purchasing player, so that player does not retain control of unique pilots at the end of the mission, but any unique pilots killed are lost in the campaign. The opposing player must field at least 5 unique crew and/or pilots. Any uniques destroyed are actually taken hostage by the pirates. The defending player may ransom each unique for 2 Asset points. If the ransom is not paid, the uniques are lost from the campaign.

Diversion (300 points): Capital Gains

Purchasing Player launches a strike against a Huge ship to destroy it. The Defending player must use one of the Titles for the Raider or CR-90. If the corvette is destroyed, the Title is lost for future missions (as per losing a Unique Pilot) and the Purchasing player earns 4 Asset Points.

Diversion (200 points): Kessel Run

Can you make the Kessel Run in 12 f/s? Even when someone is trying to kill you? Each player must use a large base ship as their racer; the rest of the list must be small base ships. Both players alternate playing 24 Asteroids!! Each player wagers any number of Asset points. Both large Racer ships deploy along the same short edge of the board; the small ships deploy along the long edges across from each other. Each player must race his large Racer ship from the starting edge to within R2 of the opposite edge, and then back off the starting edge. The first ship off the board has crossed the finish line, and that player wins Asset points equal to double their wager. The loser loses all his wager. Either player can hire a large based S&V pilot to fly (at normal costs to hire S&V; if the pilot is not destroyed, that pilot can be added to the player’s list of available pilots).

Diversion (200 points): A Hero Reborn

Purchasing player chooses on of his KIA unique pilots to use in the scenario. If the unique pilot survices the Diversion, the purchasing player may again use that pilot (until destoyed again). The purchasing player also gains 4 Asset points. If the KIA pilot is destoyed again, defending player gains 3 Asset Points. player.

Diversion (200 points): Munitions Dump

Purchasing player attacks the foe’s supply dump. The Purchasing player deploys 6 asteroids on his side; the Defending Player deploys 6 Cargo Containers on his half of the board. For each Crate destroyed, purchasing player can deny 1 type of torpedo, missile, or bomb for the rest of the campaign. The Purchasing player can flee off table edge at any time to end the scenario. The Crates have Hull 4, 0 Agility, 0 Attack, and 0 Shields. A critical hit on a crate is considered 2 damage. When destroyed, the crates explode for 2d damage to any ship at Range 1.

Diversion (100 points): Two Ships Enter, One Ship Leaves

Each player must bring a 2 ship list, with both ships being unique pilots. Either player may flee the table edge when one of their ships is destroyed.

Diversion (100 points): Never Tell Me the Odds

The Purchasing player builds a 100 point squad. The Defending player builds a 110 point squad. If the purchasing player wins, he gains 4 Asset Points.

Diversion (100 points): All Squadrons Reporting In

Each player choses 1 chassis. All ships in the list must be of the same type, and at least 1 unique Squad Leader is required. If the purchasing player wins, he gains 4 Asset points. If the opponent wins, he gains 2 Asset points.

Diversion (100 points): The Hit

Besides purchasing the Diversion, the Purchasing player also purchases 100 points of S&V (which he may add to his roster after this encounter). He chooses 1 enemy Pilot to be the target. The Defending player must build a 100 point list that includes that pilot. An easy chance to remove an annoying target.

Diversion (100 points): Personnel Transfer

Purchasing player chooses 1 enemy Unique Crew to be the target. The Defending player must build a 100 point list that includes that crew upgrade. An easy chance to remove an annoying target.

Diversion (100 points): The Prototype

If Tier 3 chassis have been banned, purchasing player chooses 1 ship from that roster and builds a 100 point list including 1 pilot in that ship. If the pilot in the chosen ship type survives the Diversion, that pilot may be used in the rest of the campaign (until killed). If Tier 3 chassis are available in the campaign, no players may select this Diversion.

Diversion (100 points): Not This Ship, Sister

The Purchasing player chooses 1 ship with a Unique Pilot. If the unique pilot survives the Diversion, that pilot may be used in any mission the rest of the campaign (that is, the pilot is struck from available pilots even if destoyed).

Diversion (100 points): The Force is With Me, and I Am One With The Force

If the purchasing wins this encounter, he gains 1 Force Asset token. He may spend this Force Asset at any time in any future game to choose the result of a die roll.

Diversion (100 points): Cloak and Dagger

If the purchasing player wins this encounter, he gains 1 Counterintelligence Asset token. He may spend this Counterintelligence Asset at any time to require his opponent to choose a different Diversion. Alternatively, that player may spend an additional 3 Asset Points to continue with the chosen Diversion.